Men, devoid of property, after having been some time deceived, would only get an increase of work by the abolition of the Sabbath; and as this truth does not present itself naturally to the mind, we ought to consider, as an essential service of religion, its having secured the greater number of men from a degree of oppression, to which they would have run blindly, if they had been at liberty to make a choice. The daily labour of one class of society surpasses the reasonable measure of its strength, and hastens the days of decripitude; it was then absolutely necessary that the customary course of these labours should be, for a time, suspended; but as the people, pressed by wants of every kind, are exposed to be seduced by the slightest appearance of advantage, it was further necessary to their happiness, that the interruption of thier fatigues, fixed by a religious duty, appeared not to them the voluntary sacrifice of fortune, and did not leave in them any regret. In short, they are pleased when they think of those days of rest, which produce a little alteration in their manner of living; and they require that alteration, not to be depressed by a continual train and repetition of the same occupations. Thus, were you to assert artfully, that the people are not as comfortable of a Sunday, as during the week, it would be at least true, that one is softened by the expectation of the other; there are people so very wretched, and probably, on that account, so bounded are their desires, that the most trifling variety is a substitute for hope. It seems to me, that the hearts of the common people may be sometimes cheered with the thought of being once a week dressed like their superiors; when they are absolute masters of their time, and can say,—and I also—I am free[3]. I must now examine the second proposition which I have mentioned. You have made obvious, some will say, that an augmentation of the days of labour would occasion a reduction of the wages allowed for it, we may then reasonably ask, if this result would not favour commerce, and contribute, in some respect, to increase the political strength? Undoubtedly you may consider under this point of view, the diminution of the reward of industry; but the political strength being always a relative idea, and derived from comparisons with other states, this strength can never be augmented or diminished by a circumstance common to all the countries of Europe. Were a barbarous ambition to abolish in one state the Sabbath, the abolition would probably procure it a degree of superiority, if it was the only one that adopted such a change; but as soon as others followed their example, the advantage would disappear. However, the same arguments ought to serve to convince us, that those countries, where the intervals of inaction occur oftener, have necessarily a political disadvantage, with regard to others, where Sunday and a few solemn feasts are the only days of rest prescribed by government.